The pickup truck driver involved in an eight-vehicle crash that hospitalized five in Rehoboth Beach over the summer has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Martin Tuohy, a 45-year-old from Middletown, was charged with drunken driving after he tried to reverse out of a parking space on Rehoboth Avenue near Second Street, the Delaware Department of Justice said.

His blue Dodge pickup struck another vehicle on Rehoboth Avenue, and then he tried to flee, police said following the July 7 crash.

Tuohy lost control and collided with four more vehicles parked along the median but continued across Rehoboth Avenue and hit a curb, police said. A bike rack and two additional vehicles on the road were hit.

Martin Tuohy, 45, of Middletown, pleaded no contest to charges including his third offense of driving under the influence, first-degree reckless endangering and three counts of second-degree vehicular assault.(Photo: Rehoboth Beach Police Department)

The truck hit a light pole head-on and then stopped on the north side of Rehoboth Avenue west of Second Street.

The driver and four others, including a 16-year-old, were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Tuohy was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, followed by a year of probation, Carl Kanefsky, a DOJ spokesman said.

He entered into a no-contest plea to charges including his third offense of driving under the influence, first-degree reckless endangering and three counts of second-degree vehicular assault.